Learning to Control Orientation and Force in a Hammering Task

Abstract

The ability to create stone tools is considered an important step in the emergence of human cognition. To further our understanding of these evolutionary processes we focused on the initial learning processes with which this percussive skill may be acquired. We studied a hammering task in which participants had to create a ground force vector by hitting a target on a force plate with a hammerstone. The produced ground force vector was presented as an arrow on a computer screen and had to end in a displayed target. The target could vary in its angle of azimuth and inclination. Over 5 days, three of the five participants adapted a wrist joint angle and two of these three participants adapted a shoulder joint angle that affected only angle of inclination of the ground force vector. Length and angle of azimuth of the ground force vector were not affected. In learning to control a hammering task, the first parameter to be manipulated seems to be the angle of inclination by adjusting the wrist and shoulder joint angles. This suggests that in the initial stages of learning a hammering task only one parameter is adapted.